110th Congress > Senate > Vote 60
Clerk session vote number: 60
Description: To strike the provision that revises the personnel management practices of the Transportation Security Administration.
Bill summary: Improving America's Security Act of 2007 - Provides for implementation of recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission).
Title I: Improving Intelligence and Information Sharing within the Federal Government and with State, Local, and Tribal Governments - Subtitle A: Homeland Security Information Sharing Enhancement
- (Sec. 111) Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA) to require the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary)
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to administer the Homeland Security Advisory System to provide warnings regarding the risk of terrorist attacks on the homeland to federal, state, local, and tribal government authorities and to the people of the United States. Directs the Secretary to: (1) exercise primary responsibility for providing such warnings (2) establish criteria and develop a methodology for the issuance and revocation of such warnings; (3) provide, in each warning, specific information and advice regarding appropriate protective measures and countermeasures that may be taken to enable individuals, government entities, emergency response providers, and the private sector to act appropriately; and (4) limit the scope of each warning, whenever possible, to a specific region, locality, or economic sector believed to be at risk.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) integrate and standardize the information of the intelligence components of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), except for any internal protocols, to be administered by the Chief Intelligence Officer (CIO); and (2) designate, for each component, an information sharing and knowledge management officer who shall report to the CIO.
Requires the CIO to: (1) establish DHS-wide procedures for the review and analysis of information gathered from government and private sector sources; and (2) integrate such information into information gathered by, and make such information available within, DHS and other federal agencies.
Directs the Secretary to develop mechanisms to provide feedback regarding the analysis and utility of information provided.
Requires the CIO to: (1) provide opportunities for training and education to DHS employees; and (2) evaluate how employees of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis and DHS intelligence components are utilizing homeland security information, sharing information within DHS, and participating in the information sharing environment established under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA).
Amends HSA to modify the responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection to require: (1) access, receipt, analysis, and integration of information to be in support of DHS mission responsibilities and consistent with the functions of the National Counterterrorism Center; and (2) review, analysis, and recommendations for improvements in information-sharing to be made among the federal, state, local, and tribal government authorities.
Amends IRTPA to require the information sharing environment to perform specified functions, including integrating information and technologies and incorporating continuous, real-time, and immutable audit capabilities. Expands the program manager's responsibilities, to include: (1) assisting in the development of policies to foster the development and proper operation of the information sharing environment; and (2) identifying and resolving information sharing disputes between federal departments.
Requires: (1) the Information Sharing Council to assist the program manager in identifying and resolving such disputes and to identify appropriate personnel for assignment to the program manager to support staffing needs; (2) the departments represented on the Council, at the request of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), to detail appropriate personnel to the program manager on a reimbursable basis; and (3) the President to report to Congress each year on the state of the information sharing environment and of information sharing across the government.
Directs the President to report to specified committees on the feasibility of: (1) eliminating the use of any marking or process to restrict the sharing of information within the scope of the information sharing environment among participants in such environment unless the President has specifically exempted categories of information from elimination; (2) continuing to use federal agency standards in effect for the collection, sharing, and access to such information relating to citizens and lawful permanent residents; (3) replacing those standards with one that would allow mission-based or threat-based permission to access or share information for a particular purpose that the government has determined to be lawfully permissible for a particular agency, component, or employee (an "authorized use" standard); and (4) the use of anonymized data by federal departments when such use is reasonably expected to produce results materially equivalent to the use of non-anonymized information and is consistent with any mission of that department involving personally identifiable information.
Authorizes the program manager to hire up to 40 full-time employees to assist in: (1) identifying and resolving information sharing disputes between federal agencies; and (2) other activities associated with the implementation of the information sharing environment.
(Sec. 113) Directs: (1) the Secretary, acting through the CIO, to develop a curriculum for the training of state, local, and tribal government officials relating to the handling, review, and development of intelligence material; and (2) the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and other federal entities to carry out training programs.
(Sec. 114) Authorizes the President or the head of an agency, in making cash awards, to consider an employee's success in sharing information in the information sharing environment and directs agency heads to adopt best practices regarding effective ways to educate and motivate federal officers and employees to engage in such environment.
Subtitle B: Homeland Security Information Sharing Partnerships
- (Sec. 121) Amends HSA to direct the Secretary to establish a State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative. Authorizes: (1) the CIO to assign officers and intelligence analysts from DHS components to state, local, and regional fusion centers; and (2) the Secretary to develop qualifying criteria for a fusion center to participate in assigning DHS officers or intelligence analysts. Lists as prerequisites for such assignment intelligence analysis, privacy, and civil liberties training. Grants each assigned individual direct access to all relevant federal databases and information systems.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) create a mechanism for any state, local, or tribal emergency response provider who is a consumer of intelligence to voluntarily provide feedback to DHS; and (2) establish guidelines for fusion centers operated by state and local governments, including incorporating emergency response providers and the private sector into all relevant phases of the intelligence and fusion process through full time representatives or liaison officers.
Requires: (1) the Secretary to submit to the House and Senate homeland security committees a concept of operations report; and (2) the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to report on the privacy and civil liberties impact of the program.
(Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary, acting through the CIO, to establish a Homeland Security Information Sharing Fellows Program.
(Sec. 123) Establishes a Rural Policing Institute, which shall be administered by the Office of State and Local Training of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, to: (1) evaluate the needs of law enforcement agencies of units of local government and tribal governments located in rural areas; (2) develop and provide expert training programs to address those needs, including combating methamphetamine addiction and distribution, domestic violence, and response related to school shootings; and (3) conduct outreach.
Subtitle C: Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group
- (Sec. 131) Directs the program manager for the information sharing environment to oversee and coordinate the creation and ongoing operation of an Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group (ITACG), which shall facilitate the production of federally coordinated products derived from information within the scope of such environment intended for distribution to state, local, and tribal government officials and the private sector. Requires ITACG to be located at the facilities of the National Counterterrorism Center of the Office of the DNI.
Directs the Secretary: (1) to assign a senior level officer to manage and direct ITACG administration; (2) to determine how specific products shall be distributed to state, local, and tribal officials and private sector partners; and (3) acting through the CIO, to establish standards for the admission of law enforcement and intelligence officials from a state, local, or tribal government into ITACG.
Includes within ITACG representatives of DHS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), and state, local, and tribal law enforcement and intelligence officials. Directs the program manager to develop qualifying criteria and establish procedures for selecting personnel assigned to ITACG and for the proper handling and safeguarding of information related to terrorism.
Title II: Homeland Security Grants
- Homeland Security Grant Enhancement Act of 2007 - (Sec. 202) Amends HSA to establish a Homeland Security Grant Program (consisting of an Urban Area Security Initiative, State Homeland Security Grant Program, and Emergency Communications and Interoperability Grants Program). Authorizes the Secretary to award Program grants through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Declares that the Program shall supersede specified programs under the USA PATRIOT Act, HSA, and the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. Requires grant programs to include policies and procedures for: (1) identifying funded activities that are susceptible to significant improper payments; and (2) reporting the incidence of improper payments to DHS.
Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish minimum performance requirements for entities that receive homeland security grants; (2) conduct simulations and exercises to test such requirements for emergencies and major disasters not less than twice each year and catastrophic incidents not less than once each year; and (3) ensure that entities that are failing to demonstrate minimum performance requirements establish a plan for the achievement of those requirements within a specified time frame. Provides that, at the Administrator's discretion, the occurrence of an actual emergency, major disaster, or catastrophic incident in an area may be deemed a simulation. Directs the Administrator to report annually to the homeland security committees on grantee performance, lessons learned, and efforts being made to remedy failed performance.
Establishes the Urban Area Security Initiative to provide grants to assist high-risk metropolitan areas in preventing, preparing for, protecting against, responding to, and recovering from terrorist acts. Directs the Administrator, in allocating funds among metropolitan areas applying for such grants to consider specified factors, such as the relative threat, vulnerability, and consequences faced by the eligible metropolitan area from a terrorist attack and the anticipated effectiveness of the proposed spending plan for the eligible metropolitan area in increasing that area's ability to prevent, prepare for, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorism, to meet its target capabilities and to otherwise reduce the overall risk. Requires the Administrator to distribute grant funds to the states in which an approved eligible metropolitan area is located. Requires each state to provide the eligible metropolitan area at least 80% of grant funds and an accounting of the items or services on which any funds retained by the state were expended.
Establishes the State Homeland Security Grant Program to assist state, local, and tribal governments in preventing, preparing for, protecting against, responding to, and recovering from terrorist acts. Directs the Administrator, in allocating funds among states applying for such grants, to: (1) consider specified factors, such as the relative threat, vulnerability, and consequences faced by the state from a terrorist attack, the anticipated effectiveness of the proposed state spending plan in reaching certain goals, and the need to balance the goals of ensuring that target capabilities of the highest risk areas are achieved quickly and that basic levels of preparedness are achieved nationwide; and (2) ensure that, for each fiscal year, no state receives less than .45% of the funds appropriated for the Program and that American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands each receive not less than .08%. Allows the states to submit an application for multistate efforts. Lists minimum allocation amounts for states and directly eligible tribes. Lists permissible uses of grants, including the payment of appropriate personnel costs for protecting critical infrastructure and key resources identified in the Critical Infrastructure List.
Directs the Administrator to designate not less than 25% of the combined amount appropriated for the Urban Area Security Initiative and the State Homeland Security Grant Program for law enforcement terrorism prevention activities, including for information sharing to preempt attacks, target hardening, threat recognition, and certain overtime expenses.
Establishes in DHS an Office for the Prevention of Terrorism, whose Director shall report directly to the Secretary. Requires the Director to establish a pilot project to determine the efficacy and feasibility of establishing law enforcement deployment teams that shall form the basis of a national network of standardized law enforcement resources to assist state, local, and tribal governments in responding to natural disasters, terrorist acts, or other man-made disasters. .
Places upon the Administrator responsibility for administering all DHS-administered homeland security grant programs and for ensuring coordination and consistency. Requires any state or metropolitan area receiving grants to establish a planning committee to assist in preparing and revising state, regional, or local homeland security plans and in determining effective funding priorities (with an exception where the state or metropolitan area has established and uses a multijurisdictional planning committee or commission that meets specified requirements).
Directs the Secretary, through the Administrator, to: (1) compile a comprehensive list of federal programs that provide assistance to state, local, and tribal governments for preventing, preparing for, and responding to, disasters and terrorist acts; (2) develop a proposal to coordinate the planning, reporting, application, and other requirements and guidance for homeland security assistance programs; and (3) submit the information and proposals to the House and Senate homeland security committees.
Directs the Administrator to: (1) submit to Congress, as a component of the annual Federal Preparedness Report, an evaluation of the extent to which DHS-administered grants have contributed to the progress of state, local, and tribal governments in achieving target capabilities and have led to the reduction of risk nationally and in state, local, and tribal jurisdictions; (2) report to the homeland security committees, for each fiscal year, a detailed and comprehensive explanation of the methodology used to calculate risk and compute the allocation of funds; and (3) conduct periodic reviews of grants.
Requires: (1) each grant recipient and DHS to provide the Government Accountability Office (GAO) with full access to information regarding activities carried out under this title; (2) the Comptroller General to conduct annual audits of the Homeland Security Grant Program and to report to the homeland security committees; (3) grant recipients that expend $500,000 or more in funds received under this title during any fiscal year to submit to the Administrator an organization-wide financial and compliance audit report; and (4) the Secretary to conduct a recovery audit for any DHS-administered grant valued at $1 million or greater. Sets forth remedies for noncompliance.
Requires the DHS Inspector General to: (1) audit each entity that receives a grant under the Urban Area Security Initiative, State Homeland Security Grant Program, or Emergency Management Performance Grants Program (under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006) every two years and make each audit available on the Inspector General's website; (2) audit each entity that receives a grant under such programs to evaluate the use of any preparedness grant administered by DHS that was awarded before the date of this Act's enactment and make each audit available on the Inspector General's website; and (3) submit to Congress a consolidated report regarding audits conducted. Requires the Administrator to withhold 1% of the amount of each grant under such programs for audits.
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) DHS should administer a coherent and coordinated system of both terrorism-focused and all-hazards grants; and (2) the amounts appropriated for grants under the Urban Area Security Initiative, the State Homeland Security Grant Program, and the Emergency Communications Operability and Interoperable Communications Grants Program in any fiscal year should be in direct proportion to the amounts authorized for those programs for FY2008 under this Act.
(Sec. 203) Expresses the sense of the Senate that DHS shall conduct at least 7,500 trainings annually through the Domestic Preparedness Equipment Technical Assistance Program. Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified committees on: (1) the number of trainings conducted; and (2) why fewer trainings were needed if that number is less than 7,500.
Title III: Communications Operability and Interoperability
- (Sec. 301) Directs the Administrator to: (1) make grants to states for initiatives necessary to achieve, maintain, or enhance statewide, regional, national, and international emergency communications operability and interoperable communications; and (2) require any state applying for a grant to submit a Statewide Interoperable Communications Plan in coordination with local and tribal governments, emergency response providers, and other relevant state officers.
Lists considerations in approving applications and awarding grants, including the nature of the threat, the location, risk, or vulnerability of critical infrastructure and key national assets, and the extent to which geographic barriers pose unusual obstacles to achieving, maintaining, or enhancing emergency communications operability or interoperable communications. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a panel to assist in reviewing grant applications; and (2) ensure that for each fiscal year no state receives less than .75% of the total funds appropriated and American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands each receive no less than .25%.
Requires the Administrator to determine a date by which a state that receives a grant shall make available to local and tribal governments and emergency response providers not less than 80% of the grant funds, an equal value of resources purchased with grant funds, or an equal value of grant funds combined with resources purchased with grant funds.
Sets forth certification requirements regarding distribution of grant funds to local and tribal governments. Requires any state that receives a grant to submit a spending report to the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to make each report publicly available on the FEMA website. Establishes penalties for reporting delay. Prohibits grants from being used for recreational or social purposes. Provides that nothing in this section precludes the use of funds by a state for interim or long-term Internet Protocol-based interoperable solutions.
Amends: (1) IRTPA to require interoperable communications plans to include information on the governance structure used to develop the plan, on the method by which multijurisdictional, multidisciplinary input was provided from all regions of the jurisdiction, and on the process for continuing to incorporate such input; and (2) HSA to require the National Emergency Communications Plan to set a date and interim benchmarks by which state, local, and tribal governments, federal agencies, emergency response providers, and the private sector will achieve interoperable communications.
(Sec. 302) Establishes in DHS an International Border Community Interoperable Communications Demonstration Project. Requires the Secretary to select no fewer than six border communities to participate. Requires projects to address the interoperable communications needs of emergency response providers and the National Guard. Directs the Secretary to: (1) distribute funds to participating communities through the states; and (2) report to the House and Senate homeland security committees annually.
Authorizes appropriations.
Title IV: Emergency Management Performance Grants Program -
(Sec. 401) Amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to replace a provision transferring the Noble Training Center to the Center for Domestic Preparedness with provisions establishing an Emergency Management Performance Grants Program to make grants to states to assist state, local, and tribal governments in preventing, preparing for, protecting against, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating against all hazards. Allocates .75% of grant funds to each state and .25% to American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, with remaining funds allocated to each state in proportion to its population. Lists permissible uses of grants. Limits the federal share of costs to 50%. Requires a state to take into account the needs of local and tribal governments.
Permits the Administrator to award grants to states to plan for, equip, or construct all-hazards state, local, or regional emergency operations centers. Prohibits grant awards from being used for construction that is not consistent with requirements under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Limits the federal share of costs to 75%.
Authorizes appropriations.
Title V: Enhancing Security of International Travel
- (Sec. 501) Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should modernize and expand the visa waiver program by simultaneously enhancing program security requirements and extending visa-free travel privileges to nationals of foreign countries that are allies in the war on terrorism.
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary to certify to Congress when an air exit system is in place that can verify the departure of not less than 97% of foreign nationals that exit through U.S. airports. Provides for the waiver of low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate requirements for participation in the Visa Waiver Program after such certification if specified security conditions are met. Directs: (1) the Secretary and the Secretary of State to jointly use information from the system to establish a maximum visa overstay rate for countries participating in the Program pursuant to a waiver; and (2) the Secretary to submit to Congress and publish in the Federal Register a notice of the proposed maximum visa overstay rate and to issue a final rate not less than 60 days thereafter.
Requires each alien traveling under the Visa Waiver Program, beginning on the date on which the electronic travel authorization system is fully operational, to electronically provide basic biographical information to the system before applying for admission. Directs the Secretary, upon review of such information, to determine whether the alien is eligible to travel to the United States under the Program.
Revises requirements for eligibility as a Program country to require the government of a country to: (1) enter into an agreement with the United States to report or make available through Interpol to the U.S. government information about the theft or loss of passports within a strict time limit and in a specified manner; (2) accept for repatriation any citizen, former citizen, or national against whom a final executable order of removal is issued not later than three weeks after the issuance of the final order of removal; and (3) share information regarding whether nationals of that country traveling to the United States represent a threat.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on the implementation of the electronic travel authorization system and the participation of new countries in the Program through a waiver; and (2) provide technical assistance to Program countries. Prohibits the Secretary from waiving an eligibility requirement without notifying the appropriate congressional committees at least 30 days before the effective date of the waiver.
Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a fully automated electronic travel authorization system to collect basic biographical information to determine, in advance of travel, the eligibility of an alien to travel to the United States under the Program; and (2) charge a fee for the use of the system. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations that provide for up to a three-year period during which a determination of eligibility to travel under the Program will be valid. Permits the Secretary to revoke such determination at any time. Denies judicial review of an eligibility determination under the system.
Directs the Secretary to establish an exit system that records the departure on a flight leaving the United States of every alien participating in the Program. Requires this system to: (1) match biometric information of the alien against relevant watch lists and immigration information; and (2) compare biometric information against manifest information collected by air carriers on passengers departing the United States to confirm that such individuals have departed the United States.
Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 502) Amends IRTPA to direct the Secretary to nominate a U.S. government official to serve as the Director of the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, to be staffed with not fewer than 40 full-time equivalent positions, detailed from specified agencies.
(Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary to designate a DHS official to: (1) be responsible for carrying out the program to oversee implementation of the Secretary's responsibilities regarding terrorist travel; (2) assist in improving DHS's ability to prevent terrorists from entering or remaining undetected in the United States; and (3) serve as the Secretary's primary point of contact with the National Counterterrorism Center regarding terrorist travel initiatives and recommendations.
(Sec. 504) Adds as a criterion to be met before implementation of a plan for requiring specified documents for travel in the United States certification of the signing by the Secretary and the Secretary of State of a memorandum of agreement to initiate a pilot program with not less than one state to determine if an enhanced driver's license that is machine-readable, tamper proof, and issued by such state may permit an individual to meet documentation requirements for entry into the United States from Canada. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on expansion of the pilot program and its impact on national security.
(Sec. 505) Directs the Secretary to conduct: (1) a complete cost-benefit analysis of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative; and (2) a study of the mechanisms by which the execution fee for a PASS Card could be reduced, considering the potential increase in the number of applications.
(Sec. 506) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a model ports-of-entry program to provide a more efficient and welcoming international arrival process in order to promote business and tourist travel to the United States while improving security; (2) implement the program initially at the 20 U.S. international airports with the greatest average annual number of arriving foreign visitors; and (3) employ at least an additional 200 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to address staff shortages at such airports.
Title VI: Privacy and Civil Liberties Matters -
(Sec. 601) Amends the National Security Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 to direct the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to: (1) analyze and review executive branch actions to protect the nation from terrorism; (2) ensure that liberty concerns are appropriately considered in the development and implementation of laws, regulations, and policies related to efforts to protect the nation from terrorism; (3) review and assess reports and other information from privacy officers and civil liberties officers; (4) make recommendations to such officers regarding their activities and coordinate activities on relevant interagency matters; (5) report at least semiannually to specified committees and to the President; and (6) make its reports available to the public, hold public hearings, and otherwise inform the public of its activities consistent with the protection of classified information. Sets forth provisions regarding access to information, including review of subpoena requests, and security clearances. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 602) Directs the Attorney General, the Secretaries of Defense, State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the DNI, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the head of any other department designated by the Board to designate a senior officer to: (1) assist the agency head in considering privacy and civil liberties concerns when developing or implementing laws, regulations, or guidelines related to efforts to protect the nation against terrorism; and (2) periodically investigate and review department actions, guidelines, and related laws to ensure adequate consideration of privacy and civil liberties. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) exceptions to the designation authority of privacy officers and civil liberties officers; (2) supervision, coordination, and cooperation; (3) reprisals for making complaints; and (4) periodic reports to Congress and availability to the public.
(Sec. 603) Amends HSA to grant DHS's senior privacy officer access to records and authority, including subpoena power, to conduct investigations relating to DHS programs and operations. Directs such officer to: (1) report to, and be under the general supervision of, the Secretary; and (2) coordinate activities with DHS's Inspector General. Requires notification to Congress upon such official's removal or transfer. Directs that officer to report to Congress, including regarding requests for subpoenas.
(Sec. 604) Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act of 2007 - Requires federal agency heads to report to Congress on any activity to use or develop data mining. Defines "data mining" as a query, search, or other analysis of one or more electronic databases, where: (1) a federal agency or a non-federal entity acting on the government's behalf is conducting the analysis to find a predictive pattern or anomaly indicating terrorist or criminal activity; and (2) the search does not use a specific individual's personal identifiers to retrieve information. Requires annual updates.
Title VII: Enhanced Defenses Against Weapons of Mass Destruction
- (Sec. 701) Amends HSA to direct the Secretary to establish, operate, and maintain a National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) under an existing office or directorate of DHS to oversee development and operation of a National Biosurveillance Integration System. Declares that the primary mission of the NBIC is to enhance the federal government's capability to: (1) rapidly identify and track a biological event of national significance by integrating and analyzing data from human health, animal, plant, food, and environmental monitoring systems; and (2) disseminate alerts and information to member agencies and to state, local, and tribal government agencies to enhance their ability to respond to such an event.
Requires: (1) the NBIC to design the System to detect, as early as possible, a biological event of national significance that presents a risk to the United States or to the infrastructure or key assets of the United States; (2) the Secretary to ensure that the NBIC is fully operational by September 30, 2008, and to report to the House and Senate homeland security committees; and (3) NBIC's Directing Officer to establish an entity to perform operations and assessments, evaluate data for evidence of a biological event of national significance, and establish a method of real-time communication with the National Operations Center (the Biological Common Operating Picture). Directs member agencies to use best efforts to integrate biosurveillance information into the System.
Requires the Directing Officer to: (1) establish an interagency coordination council to facilitate interagency cooperation and to advise the Directing Officer regarding recommendations to enhance DHS's biosurveillance capabilities; and (2) invite member agencies to serve on the council.
Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 702) Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the state of biosurveillance efforts.
(Sec. 703) Amends HSA to direct the Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Energy, and the DNI to jointly take specified steps to ensure interagency coordination on the development and implementation of the global nuclear detection architecture.
Title VIII: Private Sector Preparedness
- (Sec. 801) Defines "voluntary national preparedness standards" to mean a common set of criteria for preparedness, disaster management, emergency management, and business continuity programs.
(Sec. 802) Amends HSA to make the Special Assistant to the Secretary responsible for: (1) providing information to the private sector regarding such standards and the business justification for preparedness; and (2) promoting to the private sector the adoption of such standards. Includes among the functions of private sector advisory councils advising the Secretary on private sector preparedness issues.
(Sec. 803) Directs the Secretary to: (1) support developing, promulgating, and updating of such standards; (2) develop, implement, and promote a program to certify the preparedness of private sector entities; (3) coordinate the program with other DHS private sector-related programs and with preparedness and business continuity programs in other federal agencies; (4) enter into agreements with the American National Standards Institute or other similarly qualified nongovernmental or other private sector entities to carry out accreditations and oversee the certification process; (5) regularly monitor and inspect the operations of any third party conducting certifications; and (6) maintain and make public a listing of any private sector entity certified as being in compliance with that entity's consent.
Allows the certification program to use a multiple-tiered system to rate the preparedness of a private sector entity. Directs the selected entities to collaborate to develop procedures and requirements for accreditation and certification processes. Provides for revocation of accreditation and annual reviews. Makes certification voluntary for any private sector entity.
(Sec. 804) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary or a designated entity should promote efforts to develop a consistent international standard for private sector preparedness.
(Sec. 805) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a project to conduct demonstrations of security management systems that shall use a management system standards approach and that may be integrated into quality, safety, environmental, and other internationally adopted management systems; (2) enter into agreements with a private sector entity to conduct such demonstrations; and (3) report to the homeland security committees.
(Sec. 807) Provides that nothing in this title may be construed to supersede any preparedness or business continuity standards, requirements, or best practices established under other federal law or by any sector-specific agency.
Title IX: Transportation Security Planning and Information Sharing
- (Sec. 901) Modifies provisions regarding transportation security strategic planning to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop, implement, and update as needed transportation modal and intermodal security plans addressing risks, threats, and vulnerabilities for aviation, bridge, tunnel, commuter rail and ferry, highway, maritime, pipeline, rail, mass transit, over-the-road bus, and other public transportation infrastructure assets.
Requires the National Strategy for Transportation Security to include: (1) the development of risk-based priorities based on risk assessments conducted by the Secretary of Homeland Security, including of freight and passenger rail transportation, and public transportation security assessments by the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) required by this Act; (2) a strategic plan that sets forth the roles and missions of tribal authorities and includes mechanisms for encouraging cooperation and participation by private sector entities; and (3) a comprehensive delineation of prevention responsibilities and issues regarding threatened and executed acts of terrorism inside the United States and outside the United States to the extent such acts affect U.S. transportation systems. Requires transportation security research and development projects to be based on a prioritization of research and development objectives that support transportation security needs, giving a higher priority to research and development directed toward protecting vital transportation assets.
Requires the Strategy also to include: (1) short- and long-term budget recommendations for federal transportation security programs that reflect National Strategy priorities; (2) methods for linking the individual transportation modal security plans and the programs contained therein and a plan for addressing the security needs of intermodal transportation hubs; and (3) transportation security modal and intermodal plans, including operational recovery plans to expedite the return of an adversely affected transportation system to its normal performance level preceding a major terrorist attack or another catastrophe. Requires such plans to be coordinated with the resumption of trade protocols required under the SAFE Port Act.
Expands the scope of reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to provide an unclassified version of the National Strategy, including its component transportation modal security plans, to federal, state, regional, local, and tribal authorities, transportation system owners or operators, private sector stakeholders, and institutions of higher learning.
(Sec. 902) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Transportation Security Information Sharing Plan; (2) report to the appropriate congressional committees on updates to and implementation of the Plan; and (3) gather input on its development from private and public stakeholders and the program manager of the information sharing environment. Requires the Plan to include: (1) coordination with existing modal information sharing centers and the Information Sharing and Analysis Center for Public Transportation; (2) establishment of a point of contact for each mode of transportation within DHS for its sharing of transportation security information with public and private stakeholders; (3) an implementation deadline; and (4) a description of resource needs.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a biennial survey of the satisfaction of each of the recipients of transportation intelligence reports disseminated under the Plan; (2) facilitate the security clearances needed for public and private stakeholders to receive and obtain access to classified information; (3) provide public and private stakeholders with specific and actionable information in an unclassified format; and (4) provide a semiannual report to specified committees that identifies the job titles and descriptions of those with whom such information is to be shared, describes the measures taken to ensure proper treatment and security for any classified information, and explains the reason for the denial of such information to any stakeholder who had previously received it.
(Sec. 903) Defines "TSA employee" as an individual who holds: (1) any position that was transferred from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of DOT to DHS by HSA; and (2) any other position within DHS the duties and responsibilities of which include carrying out functions that were transferred from the TSA to the Secretary.
Repeals provisions of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) authorizing the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security to employ, appoint, discipline, terminate, and fix the compensation, terms, and conditions of employment in federal service for screener personnel. Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that all TSA employees are subject to the same personnel management system; and (2) take any measures which may be necessary to provide for the uniform treatment of all TSA employees under such system.
Requires the Comptroller General to report to the homeland security committees on the pay system that applies with respect to TSA employees as of this Act's enactment and any changes to the system which would be made under any regulations which have been prescribed.
(Sec. 904) Amends ATSA to make provisions regarding appeals of adverse actions applicable to individuals employed or appointed to carry out screening. Directs the Under Secretary of Transportation to provide a collaborative, integrated, employee engagement mechanism at every airport to address workplace issues, except that collective bargaining over working conditions shall not extend to pay. Denies employees the right to strike. Authorizes the Under Secretary to take necessary actions to carry out the agency mission in response to emergencies, newly imminent threats, or intelligence indicating a newly imminent emergency risk. Prohibits divulging classified information in any unauthorized forum.
Amends HSA to grant screeners whistleblower protection.
Directs the Comptroller General to report to the homeland security committees on: (1) the pay system that applies to TSA employees; and (2) any changes to such system that would be made under any regulations which have been prescribed under provisions regarding DHS.
(Sec. 905) Amends the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act to require submission of an initial plan to scan 100% of cargo containers before they arrive in the United States, including: (1) specific annual benchmarks for the percentage of cargo containers destined for the United States that are scanned at a foreign port; (2) annual increases in the benchmarks until 100% of such containers are scanned before arriving in the United States, unless the Secretary explains in writing that inadequate progress has been made in meeting criteria for expanded scanning to be practical or feasible; (3) an analysis of how to effectively incorporate existing programs to reach the benchmarks; and (4) an analysis of the scanning equipment, personnel, and technology necessary to reach the goal of 100% scanning of cargo containers. Requires each subsequent report to include an assessment of progress toward implementing that plan.
Title X: Incident Command System
- (Sec. 1001) Amends HSA to include among the Regional Administrator's responsibilities to: (1) coordinate with the private sector to help ensure private sector preparedness for natural disasters, terrorist acts, or other man-made disasters; and (2) assist state, local, or tribal governments to pre-identify and evaluate suitable sites where a multijurisdictional incident command system can be established quickly.
(Sec. 1002) Revises provisions concerning standards for credentialing of personnel and the typing of resources likely needed to respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters. Requires such credentialing standards to: (1) include the minimum professional qualifications, certifications, training, and education requirements for specific emergency response functional positions that are applicable to federal, state, local, and tribal government; (2) be compatible with the National Incident Management System; (3) be consistent with standards for advance registration for health professions volunteers; and (4) be developed within six months of this Act's enactment. Requires the Secretary and the Administrator to ensure that all DHS personnel (including temporary personnel and individuals in the Surge Capacity Force) who are likely to respond are credentialed.
Directs the Administrator to: (1) evaluate whether the FEMA workforce complies with FEMA's strategic human capital plan and is sufficient to respond to a catastrophic incident; (2) provide detailed written guidance and expertise to state, local, and tribal governments to facilitate the credentialing of state, local, and tribal emergency response providers commonly or likely to be used in responding; and (3) assist such governments with credentialing their personnel.
Directs: (1) the Administrator to enter into a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on establishing nationwide standards for typing of resources (i.e., evaluating assets or resources for a specific function) commonly or likely to be used in responding to a natural disaster, terrorist act, or other man-made disaster; (2) the Secretary to ensure that all such DHS resources and assets are typed; and (3) the Administrator to provide such standards to all federal agencies with responsibilities under the National Response Plan. Requires the Administrator to provide leadership, guidance, and technical assistance to such agencies to facilitate the typing process, to establish and maintain a documentation and database system of such resources and assets, and to provide detailed written guidance and expedite and assist state, local, and tribal governments with typing their resources.
Directs the Administrator to create model standards or guidelines that states may adopt in conjunction with critical infrastructure owners and operators and their employees to permit access to restricted areas in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist act, or other man-made disaster.
Title XI: Critical Infrastructure Protection
- (Sec. 1101) Directs the Secretary to establish a risk-based prioritized list of critical infrastructure and key resources that: (1) includes assets or systems that, if successfully destroyed or disrupted through a terrorist attack or natural catastrophe, would cause catastrophic national or regional impacts; and (2) reflects a cross-sector analysis of critical infrastructure to determine priorities for prevention, protection, recovery, and restoration. Requires the Secretary to include levees in the Department's list of critical infrastructure sectors. Authorizes the Secretary to establish additional critical infrastructure and key resources priority lists by sector.
Requires: (1) each list to be reviewed and updated at least annually; (2) the Secretary to report annually to the House and Senate homeland security committees and submit with each report a classified annex for required information that cannot be made public; and (3) the classification of information required to be provided to Congress, DHS, or any other agency by a sector-specific agency to be binding.
(Sec. 1102) Directs the Secretary, for each fiscal year beginning with FY2007, to prepare a risk assessment of the critical infrastructure and key resources of the nation: (1) organized by sector; and (2) containing any actions or countermeasures proposed to address security concerns. Authorizes DHS to rely on a vulnerability or risk assessment prepared by another federal agency that DHS determines is prepared in coordination with other DHS initiatives relating to critical infrastructure or key resource protection and partnerships between the government and private sector. Sets forth reporting requirements and provisions regarding the classification of information.
(Sec. 1103) Directs the Secretary to use the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center, where appropriate, to carry out the actions required under this title.
(Sec. 1104) Directs the Secretary to report to specified committees for each fiscal year detailing the actions taken by the government to ensure the preparedness of industry to: (1) reduce interruption of critical infrastructure operations during a terrorist attack, natural catastrophe, or other similar national emergency; and (2) minimize the impact of such catastrophes.
Title XII: Congressional Oversight of Intelligence
- (Sec. 1201) Requires: (1) the President to disclose to the public the aggregate amount of appropriations requested in the President's budget for each fiscal year for the National Intelligence Program; (2) Congress to disclose the aggregate amounts authorized and appropriated for the Program; and (3) the DNI to assess the advisability of disclosing the aggregate amounts requested in the President's budget and authorized and appropriated by Congress for each element of the intelligence community.
(Sec. 1202) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to require the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the Director of a national intelligence center, or the head of any element of the intelligence community to make available any intelligence assessment or information requested by specified relevant congressional committees not later than 15 days after receiving the request. Requires such officials to provide requested information unless the President certifies that the President is asserting a privilege pursuant to the Constitution.
Denies any officer or element in the executive branch the authority to require a department head of the intelligence community to: (1) receive permission to testify before Congress; or (2) submit for approval or review prior to submission to Congress testimony, recommendations, or comments that include a statement that the views expressed are those of that head and do not necessarily represent the Administration's views.
Allows an employee of a covered agency (any element of the intelligence community, a national intelligence center, and any other executive agency or unit determined by the President to have as its principal function the conduct of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities) or an employee of a contractor carrying out activities pursuant to a contract with a covered agency to disclose covered information (information an employee reasonably believes provides direct evidence of a false or inaccurate statement that is made to Congress or that is contained in an intelligence report or estimate) to an authorized individual without first reporting such information to the appropriate Inspector General.
(Sec. 1203) Amends the Public Interest Declassification Act of 2000 to authorize the Public Interest Declassification Board, upon receiving a congressional request, to conduct a declassification review and make recommendations, regardless of whether the review is requested by the President. Requires recommendations submitted to the President by the Board to be submitted to the chairman and ranking member of the congressional committee that made the request. Terminates the Public Interest Declassification Act on December 31, 2012.
(Sec. 1204) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate (each or jointly) should: (1) undertake a review of the recommendations made in the final report of the 9/11 Commission regarding intelligence reform and congressional intelligence oversight reform; (2) review and consider any other suggestions, options, or recommendations for improving intelligence oversight; and (3) report to the Senate by December 21, 2007, with any recommendations for carrying out such reforms.
(Sec. 1205) Amends the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 to authorize the National Archives and Records Administration to obligate monies necessary to carry out the activities of the Public Interest Declassification Board.
(Sec. 1206) Requires the Director of the CIA to: (1) prepare and make available to the public a version of the executive summary of the Office of Inspector General Report on CIA Accountability Regarding Findings and Conclusions of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, issued in June 2005, that is declassified to the maximum extent possible, consistent with national security; and (2) submit to Congress a classified annex to the redacted executive summary that explains the reason that any redacted material was withheld from the public.
Title XIII: International Cooperation on Antiterrorism Technologies
- (Sec. 1301) Amends HSA to direct the Under Secretary for Science and Technology to establish the Science and Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office. Requires the Office's Director to: (1) be responsible for developing mechanisms, legal frameworks, and strategic priorities for international cooperative activity in support of homeland security research; (2) facilitate the matching of U.S. and foreign entities engaged in homeland security research so that they may partner in research activities; and (3) ensure that the activities are coordinated with those of other relevant research agencies.
Requires the Director to ensure that funding and resources expended in international cooperative activity will be equitably matched by the foreign partner government or other entity through direct funding, the funding of complementary activities, or the provision of staff, facilities, material, or equipment. Authorizes the Director to require a grant recipient to match up to 50% of the cost of the proposed project
Includes among partners Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and other allies in the global war on terrorism. Provides for funding for activities under this section to be paid from discretionary funds appropriated to DHS and reimbursements from foreign partners to be credited to appropriate accounts of the Directorate of Science and Technology.
(Sec. 1302) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure full and timely compliance with the requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.
Title XIV: Transportation and Interoperable Communication Capabilities
- Transportation Security and Interoperable Communication Capabilities Act -
Subtitle A: Surface Transportation and Rail Security - Part I: Improved Rail Security
- (Sec. 1421) Directs the Secretary to establish a task force to complete a risk assessment of freight and passenger rail transportation, including: (1) an assessment of public and private operational recovery plans; and (2) an account of actions by public and private entities to address identified rail security issues and to assess the effective integration of such actions.
Requires the Secretary to develop prioritized recommendations for improving rail security, including recommendations for: (1) improving the security of rail infrastructure and facilities, information systems, and other areas positing significant rail-related risks to public safety and interstate commerce; (2) deploying equipment and personnel to detect security threats; (3) training appropriate railroad or railroad shipper employees in terrorism prevention, preparedness, passenger evacuation, and response activities; (4) identifying the immediate and long-term costs of measures that may be required to address those risks; and (5) identifying public and private sector sources to fund such measures.
Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the assessment; (2) such prioritized recommendations; and (3) a plan for the federal government to provide adequate security support at high or severe threat levels of alert, a plan for coordinating rail security initiatives undertaken by the public and private sectors, and a contingency plan to ensure the continued movement of freight and passengers in the event of an attack affecting the railroad system; and (4) an estimate of the cost to implement such recommendations. Requires annual updates.
(Sec. 1422) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to Amtrak for: (1) protecting underwater and underground assets and systems; (2) protecting high risk and high consequence assets identified through system-wide risk assessments; (3) providing counterterrorism training; (4) providing both visible and unpredictable deterrence; and (5) conducting emergency preparedness drills and exercises.
Directs the Secretary to make grants to: (1) secure major tunnel access points and ensure tunnel integrity in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.; (2) secure Amtrak trains and stations; (3) obtain a watch list identification system approved by the Secretary; (4) obtain train tracking and interoperable communications systems that are coordinated; (5) hire additional police officers; (6) expand emergency preparedness efforts; and (7) conduct employee security training.
Directs: (1) the Secretary of Transportation to disburse funds to Amtrak for projects contained in a systemwide security plan approved by the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary to ensure that, subject to meeting the highest security needs on Amtrak's entire system and consistent with the required risk assessment, stations and facilities located outside of the Northeast Corridor receive an equitable share of authorized security funds.
(Sec. 1423) Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to Amtrak for fire and life-safety improvements to Amtrak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Makes funds available for specified upgrades of the six New York and New Jersey tunnels, the Baltimore & Potomac tunnel and the Union tunnel, and the Washington, D.C. Union Station tunnels, and for the preliminary design of options for a new tunnel on a different alignment to augment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels.
Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from making funds available to Amtrak under this section until Amtrak has submitted and that Secretary has approved an engineering and financial plan and a project management plan for such projects. Provides for plan review. Directs that Secretary to: (1) consider the extent to which rail carriers other than Amtrak use or plan to use the tunnels; and (2) obtain financial contributions or commitments from such carriers at levels reflecting the extent of such use.
Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to freight railroads, the Alaska Railroad, hazardous materials officers, owners of rail cars used in the transportation of hazardous materials, universities, colleges and research centers, state and local governments (for rail passenger facilities and infrastructure not owned by Amtrak), and Amtrak for full or partial reimbursement of costs incurred in the conduct of activities to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism, sabotage, or other identified intercity passenger rail and freight rail security risks, including for (1) security and redundancy for critical communications, computer, and train control systems essential for secure rail operations; (2) the security of hazardous material transportation by rail; and (3) employee security awareness, preparedness, passenger evacuation, and emergency response training.
Requires the Secretary to distribute the funds authorized by this section based on risk and to encourage nonfederal financial participation in funded projects
Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 1425) Directs the Secretary, through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology and the Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security, to carry out a research and development program to improve freight and intercity passenger security that may include research and development projects to: (1) reduce the risk of terrorist attacks on rail transportation; (2) test new emergency response techniques and technologies; (3) develop improved freight rail security technologies; (4) test wayside detectors that can detect tampering with railroad equipment; and (5) support enhanced security for the transportation of hazardous materials by rail. Directs the Secretary to ensure that such program is coordinated with other research and development initiatives at DHS and DOT.
(Sec. 1426) Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts to audit and review the safety, security, procurement, management, and financial compliance of grant recipients under this title. Directs the Secretary to prescribe procedures and schedules for awarding such grants.
(Sec. 1427) Directs Amtrak to submit to the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary a plan for addressing the needs of the families of passengers involved in any rail passenger accident involving an Amtrak intercity train resulting in a loss of life.
(Sec. 1428) Requires the Secretary to submit to specified committees a report on: (1) the current system for screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail service between the United States and Canada; (2) progress by DHS towards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada that would provide for preclearance of passengers of trains operating between the United States and Canada; and (3) the feasibility of reinstating in-transit inspections onboard international Amtrak trains.
(Sec. 1429) Directs the Secretary to issue detailed guidance for a rail worker security training program to prepare front-line workers for potential threat conditions, including information on determining the seriousness of any occurrence, the use of protective devices, and situational training exercises.
Requires: (1) each railroad carrier to develop a rail worker security training program and the Secretary to review it; (2) the carrier to complete the training of all front-line workers within one year of that review; (3) the Secretary to update the guidance to reflect new or different security threats; and (4) each carrier to revise its program accordingly and provide additional training after the guidance is updated.
(Sec. 1430) Sets forth certain whistleblower protections for rail employees providing information about perceived security threats. Establishes guidelines regarding disputes and the process of reporting to the Secretary regarding security problems, deficiencies, or vulnerabilities. Limits disclosure of the identity of such an employee. Prohibits retaliatory discharges or otherwise discriminating against an employee for reporting.
(Sec. 1431) Directs the Secretary to require rail carriers transporting a high hazard material to develop a risk mitigation plan, including alternative routing and temporary shipment suspension options, to address risks to high consequence targets. Requires such plan to be put into effect by a rail carrier for the shipment of such materials when the threat levels of the Homeland Security Advisory System are high or severe, or when specific intelligence of a probable or imminent threat exists.
(Sec. 1432) Provides for separate enforcement authority by the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense for violations of regulations and orders issued by the Secretary under this title. Establishes a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation. Provides for maximum penalties of $400,000 if the violation was committed by a person other than an individual or small business, or $50,000 if the violation was committed by an individual or small business.
(Sec. 1433) Allows a rail police officer to be temporarily assigned to assist a second rail carrier under specified circumstances. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) develop model state legislation to address the problem of entities that claim to be rail carriers in order to establish and run a police force when such entities do not in fact provide rail transportation; and (2) make it available to state governments.
(Sec. 1434) Directs the Secretary to develop a national plan for public outreach and awareness of measures that the public, railroad passengers, and railroad employees can take to increase railroad system security.
(Sec. 1435) Directs the Secretary to develop a program that will encourage the equipping of rail cars transporting high hazard materials with technology that provides: (1) car position location and tracking capabilities; and (2) notification of rail car depressurization, breach, unsafe temperature, or release of hazardous materials.
(Sec. 1436) Reenacts provisions with respect to the unified carrier registration system plan and agreement.
(Sec. 1437) Authorizes appropriations for TSA and DOT.
(Sec. 1438) Provides that any lease or contract entered into between the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and the State of Maryland shall be governed by the laws of the District of Columbia.
Part II: Improved Motor Carrier, Bus, and Hazardous Material Security
- (Sec. 1441) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) document existing and proposed routes for the transportation of hazardous materials by motor carrier and develop a framework for using a geographic information system-based approach to characterize routes in the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry; (2) assess existing and proposed routes for the transportation of such materials by motor carrier to identify measurable criteria for selecting routes based on safety and security concerns; and (3) prepare guidance materials to assist state officials in identifying and reducing safety concerns and security risks when designating highway routes for hazardous materials.
Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) complete an assessment of the safety and national security benefits achieved under existing requirements for route plans for explosives and radioactive materials and to report to specified committees; and (2) require motor carriers that have a hazardous material safety permit to maintain, follow, and carry a route plan that meets specified requirements if the Secretary determines it would enhance security and safety without imposing unreasonable costs or burdens upon motor carriers.
(Sec. 1442) Directs the Secretary to develop a program to facilitate the tracking of motor carrier shipments of high hazard materials and to equip vehicles used in such shipments with technology that provides frequent or continuous communications, vehicle position location and tracking capabilities, and a feature that allows the driver to broadcast an emergency message. Prohibits the Secretary from mandating the installation or utilization of such technology without additional congressional action.
(Sec. 1443) Directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary to execute and develop an annex to the memorandum of agreement between DOT and DHS signed September 28, 2004, governing the specific roles, responsibilities, resources, and commitments of each in addressing motor carrier transportation security matters.
(Sec. 1444) Directs the Secretary to establish a program within TSA for reviewing hazardous materials security plans. Provides for a civil penalty for failure to comply. Directs the Secretary, in reviewing compliance, to utilize risk assessment methodologies to prioritize review and enforcement actions of the highest risk hazardous materials transportation operations. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to study to what extent the insurance, security, and safety costs borne by railroad and other carriers associated with the transportation of hazardous materials are reflected in the rates paid by offerors of such commodities as compared to the costs and rates for the transportation of non-hazardous materials.
(Sec. 1445) Directs the Secretary to report on security issues related to the trucking industry.
(Sec. 1446) Requires the Secretary to consider the development of a national public sector response system to receive security alerts, emergency messages, and other information used to track the transportation of high hazard materials that can provide accurate, timely, and actionable information to appropriate first responder, law enforcement, public safety, and homeland security officials regarding accidents, threats, thefts, or other safety and security risks or incidents. Sets forth provisions regarding system capabilities and characteristics, carrier participation, data privacy, and reporting requirements.
(Sec. 1447) Directs the Secretary to establish a program within TSA for making grants to private operators of over-the-road buses or over-the-road bus terminal operators for purposes of emergency preparedness drills and exercises, protecting high risk/high consequence assets identified through system-wide risk assessment, counterterrorism training, visible/unpredictable deterrence, and public awareness and preparedness campaigns. Requires prioritization of grant funding based on the magnitude and severity of security risks to bus passengers and the ability of the funded project to reduce or respond to that risk. Sets forth reporting requirements regarding bus security.
(Sec. 1448) Directs the Secretary to develop a Pipeline Security and Incident Recovery Protocols Plan.
(Sec. 1449) Requires the Secretary to establish a program for reviewing pipeline operator adoption of recommendations in the September 5, 2002, DOT Research and Special Programs Administration Pipeline Security Information Circular, including the review of pipeline security plans and critical facility inspections. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) develop and implement a plan for reviewing the pipeline security plan and an inspection of the critical facilities of the 100 most critical pipeline operators covered by that circular, where such facilities have not been inspected for security purposes since that date, by either DHS or DOT; and (2) develop and transmit to pipeline operators security recommendations for natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines and pipeline facilities.
(Sec. 1450) Requires a state, upon application, to issue to an individual a license to operate a motor vehicle transporting a hazardous material without the required security assessment if the individual meets all other applicable requirements and the Secretary has previously determined that the individual does not pose a security risk.
(Sec. 1451) Makes any statutory limitation on the number of TSA employees inapplicable to the extent that any such employees are responsible for implementing this title.
(Sec. 1452) Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the need for, and feasibility of, establishing a system of maritime and surface transportation-related user fees to provide necessary funding for legitimate improvements to, and maintenance of, maritime and surface transportation security.
(Sec. 1453) Directs the Inspector General of DHS to submit a report to specified committees on the Trucking Security Grant Program for FY2004-FY2005 that: (1) addresses the grant announcement, application, receipt, review, award, monitoring, and closeout processes; and (2) states the amount obligated or expended for infrastructure protection, training, equipment, educational materials, program administration, marketing, and other functions.
(Sec. 1454) Permanently disqualifies an individual who has been convicted, or found not guilty by reason of insanity, of specified felonies from being issued a biometric transportation security card, with exceptions.
Subtitle B: Aviation Security Improvement
- (Sec. 1461) Extends the authorization for aviation security funding through FY2009.
(Sec. 1462) Requires the Secretary, acting through the TSA Administrator, to establish a system to screen all cargo transported on passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation. Requires the system to provide for a level of security comparable to that in effect for passenger checked baggage. Sets forth reporting requirements.
Directs: (1) the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to report to Congress and to the Comptroller General assessing each exemption granted for the required screening for cargo transported on passenger aircraft and the risk of maintaining such exemption; and (2) the Comptroller General to review the report and provide to Congress an assessment of the methodology used for determinations made by the Secretary for maintaining, changing, or eliminating an exemption.
(Sec. 1463) Requires the Administrator, before January 1, 2008, to: (1) evaluate the results of the blast-resistant cargo container pilot program; (2) begin the acquisition of a sufficient number of such containers to meet the requirements of TSA's cargo security program; and (3) develop a system under which the Administrator will make such containers available for use by passenger aircraft on a random or risk-assessment basis in sufficient number to enable the carriers to meet such requirements and provide for the storage, maintenance, and distribution of such containers. Directs the Administrator to implement that system and begin making such containers available to carriers as necessary.
(Sec. 1464) Directs the Secretary to: (1) expedite research and development for technology that can disrupt or prevent an explosive device from being introduced onto a passenger plane or from damaging a passenger plane while in flight or on the ground; and (2) establish a grant program to fund pilot projects to deploy such technology and test technology to expedite the recovery, development, and analysis of information to determine the cause of aircraft accidents.
(Sec. 1465) Extends funding for aviation security improvements. Requires the Secretary to report on in-line baggage screening.
(Sec. 1466) Requires (current law authorizes) the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security of DHS to make grants to airport sponsors for specified airport security improvement projects. Modifies requirements regarding allocations of funds.
(Sec. 1467) Amends ATSA to extend funding for research and development of aviation security technology.
(Sec. 1468) Provides that any statutory limitation on the number of employees in TSA, before or after its transfer to DHS from DOT, does not apply after FY2007. Directs the Secretary to recruit and hire such personnel into TSA as necessary to provide appropriate levels of aviation security and to reduce the average aviation security-related delay experienced by airline passengers to less than 10 minutes.
(Sec. 1469) Directs the Administrator to provide advanced training to transportation security officers for the development of specialized security skills, including behavior observation and analysis, explosives detection, and document examination.
(Sec. 1470) Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue the strategic plan that the Secretary was required to have issued within 90 days after the enactment of IRTPA to promote the optimal utilization and deployment of explosive detection equipment at airports to screen individuals and their personal property; and (2) begin full implementation of the strategic plan within one year after the enactment of this title.
(Sec. 1471) Amends HSA to direct the Secretary to establish: (1) a timely and fair process for individuals who believe they have been delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial aircraft because they were wrongly identified as a threat; and (2) an Office of Appeals and Redress.
(Sec. 1472) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the system to be utilized by DHS to assume the performance of comparing passenger information to the automatic selectee and no-fly lists, as well as the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlist.
Directs the Comptroller General to report on progress made by TSA in implementing the Secure Flight passenger prescreening program.
(Sec. 1473) Prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from certifying any foreign repair station if specified conditions are not met. Reduces the period in which a security review and audit of such stations must be accomplished.
(Sec. 1474) Directs the TSA Administrator to: (1) develop a standardized threat and vulnerability assessment program for general aviation airports; (2) implement a program to perform such assessments on a risk-assessment basis at such airports; (3) complete a study of the feasibility of a program, based on a risk-managed approach, to provide grants to general aviation airport operators for projects to upgrade security at such airports; and (4) develop a risk-based system under which foreign-registered general aviation aircraft are required to submit passenger information at the same time as advance notification requirements for CBP before entering U.S. airspace and such information is checked against appropriate databases maintained by TSA.
(Sec. 1475) Directs the Administrator to: (1) report to specified committees on the status of its efforts to institute a sterile area access system that will enhance security by properly identifying authorized airline flight deck and cabin crew members at screening checkpoints and granting them expedited access through screening checkpoints; and (2) begin full implementation of the system no later than one year after transmitting the report.
(Sec. 1476) Directs the Secretary to: (1) begin to increase the capacity of DHS's National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program at Lackland Air Force Base to accommodate the training of up to 200 canine teams annually by the end of 2008; (2) explore other options, including creating a standardized TSA-approved canine program that private sector entities could use to provide training for additional explosives detection canine teams; and (3) use the additional teams as part of DHS's layers of enhanced mobile security across the nation's transportation network and to support other homeland security programs.
(Sec. 1477) Modifies provisions regarding the use of biometric technology for law enforcement travel to direct the Secretary to establish a national registered armed law enforcement program for law enforcement officers needing to be armed when traveling by air.
(Sec. 1478) Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (TSA) to establish a pilot program at a small, a medium, and a large hub airport for training students to perform screening of passengers and property.
(Sec. 1479) Directs the TSA Administrator to conduct a pilot program to identify technological solutions for reducing the number of TSA employees at airport exit lanes.
Subtitle C: Interoperable Emergency Communications
- (Sec. 1481) Amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to revise provisions concerning the grant program to assist public agencies in establishing the interoperability of public safety emergency communications to specify five (currently, one) grant activities. Requires the awarding of at least $1 billion by September 30, 2007, pursuant to provisions of the Call Home Act of 2006.
Requires the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce to ensure that grant awards: (1) result in distributions to public safety entities among the several states that are consistent with the USA PATRIOT Act; and (2) are prioritized based upon threat and risk factors that reflect an all-hazards approach to communications preparedness and that takes into account the risks associated with, and the likelihood of the occurrence of, terrorist attacks or natural catastrophes in a state.
Sets forth eligibility requirements and criteria for grants, including criteria for strategic technology reserve grants. Provides for the allocation of funds. Directs the Assistant Secretary to identify and encourage the development and implementation of voluntary consensus standards for interoperable communications systems. Authorizes the Secretary to seek assistance from other federal agencies. Directs the Department's Inspector General to conduct and report to specified committees on an annual assessment of the management of the grant program to assist public agencies in establishing the interoperability of public safety emergency communications.
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to evaluate: (1) the technical feasibility of creating a back-up emergency communications system that complements existing communications resources and takes into account next generation and advanced telecommunications technologies; and (2) all reasonable options, including alternative transport mechanisms that can be used in tandem with existing technologies.
Requires the Assistant Secretary and the FCC Chairman to establish a joint advisory committee to examine the communications capabilities and needs of emergency medical care facilities.
Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to establish not more than 10 geographically dispersed project grants to emergency medical care facilities to improve the capabilities of emergency communications systems in such facilities.
(Sec. 1482) Amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to prohibit construing such Act as limiting the authority of the Department of Commerce or the FCC.
(Sec. 1483) Directs the FCC, in conjunction with DHS, OMB, and the Department of State, to report to specified committees on: (1) the status of the mechanism established by the President under IRTPA for coordinating cross border interoperability issues between the United States and Canada and between the United States and Mexico; (2) the status of treaty negotiations with Canada and Mexico regarding the coordination of the rebanding of 800 megahertz radios; and (3) communications between the FCC and the State Department over possible amendments to the bilateral legal agreements and protocols that govern the coordination process for license applications seeking to use channels and frequencies above Line A; (4) the annual rejection rate for the last five years by the United States of applications for new channels and frequencies by Canadian private and public entities; and (5) any additional procedures and mechanisms that the FCC can take to decrease the rejection rate for applications by U.S. entities seeking licenses to use channels and frequencies above Line A.
Directs: (1) the FCC to continually provide updated reports to those committees on the status of treaty negotiations with each of Canada and Mexico until revised; and (2) the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the current process for considering applications by Canada for frequencies and channels by U.S. communities above line A, the status of current negotiations to reform and revise such process, the estimated date of conclusion for such negotiations, whether the current process permits automatic denials or dismissals of initial applications by the Canadian government, and certain communications between the State Department and the FCC.
(Sec. 1484) Provides that two members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), if they are not affiliated with the same political party, shall constitute a quorum for the six-month period beginning on this Act's enactment date.
(Sec. 1485) Requires the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to each receive specified reports that are received by the other committee.
Title XV: Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention
- Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 - (Sec. 1503) Directs: (1) FTA to submit all public transportation security assessments and all other relevant information to the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary to review and augment such assessments by July 31, 2007, and use them as the basis for allocating funds under security assistance grants, unless the Secretary notifies the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs that an adjustment is necessary to respond to an urgent threat or significant factors.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) update such security assessments; (2) conduct security assessments for all public transportation agencies considered to be at greatest risk of a terrorist attack; (3) use information collected to establish the process for developing public transportation security guidelines and designing a security improvement strategy; and (4) conduct security assessments to determine the specific needs of local bus-only public transportation systems and selected public transportation systems that receive formula grants for non-urbanized areas.
(Sec. 1504) Directs the Secretary to: (1) award grants directly to public transportation agencies for allowable capital and operational security improvements based on established priorities; (2) ensure, in establishing such priorities and in awarding grants for improvements, that the Secretary's actions are consistent with relevant state homeland security plans; (3) give appropriate consideration to the risks of the entire system in cases where a public transportation system operates in more than one state; and (4) notify the Senate homeland security and banking committees of the intent to award such grant at least three days in advance.
Requires each public transportation agency that receives a grant to: (1) identify a security improvements coordinator; (2) develop a comprehensive plan for the agency's capacity for operating and maintaining the equipment purchased under this Act; and (3) report annually on the use of grant funds. Requires the return to the Treasury of any amounts that a grantee used for an impermissible purpose.
(Sec. 1505) Directs the Secretary to develop and issue detailed regulations for a public transportation worker security training program to prepare public transportation workers for potential threat conditions. Requires: (1) each public transportation system that receives a grant to develop such a program and submit it for approval; (2) the Secretary to review the program and approve it or require revisions; and (3) the public transportation system owner or operator to complete the training of all such workers within a specified time frame.
(Sec. 1506) Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that DOT receives appropriate and timely notification of all credible terrorist threats against public transportation assets in the United States; (2) provide sufficient financial assistance for the reasonable costs of the Information Sharing and Analysis Center for Public Transportation (ISAC) established to protect critical infrastructure; (3) require public transportation agencies at significant risk of terrorist attack to participate in ISAC; and (4) encourage all other public transportation agencies to participate in ISAC. Prohibits the Secretary from charging a fee to any public transportation agency for such participation.
(Sec. 1507) Directs the Secretary, through the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency in the Science and Technology Directorate, to award grants or contracts to public or private entities to conduct research into and demonstrate technologies and methods to reduce and deter terrorist threats or mitigate damages from terrorist attacks against public transportation systems.
(Sec. 1508) Requires semiannual reports to Congress and annual reports to the governors of each state with a public transportation agency that has received a grant under this title.
(Sec. 1509) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the capital security assistance program; (2) the operational security assistance program; (3) the public transportation security training program; and (4) research on reducing and deterring terrorist threats or mitigating damages resulting from terrorist attacks against public transportation systems.
(Sec. 1510) Terminates the authority to make grants under this title on October 1, 2011.
Title XVI: Miscellaneous Provisions
- (Sec. 1601) Amends HSA to establish a Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security for Management to serve as the Chief Management Officer and principal advisor to the Secretary on matters related to management of DHS.
(Sec. 1602) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Secretary should make a priority of countering domestic radicalization and extremism by specified means, including by pursuing broader avenues of dialogue with the Muslim community; and (2) the Senate should implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendation to create a single, principal point of oversight and review for homeland security.
(Sec. 1604) Directs: (1) the Secretary to report to Congress regarding ongoing DHS initiatives to improve security along the U.S. northern border; and (2) the Comptroller General to report to Congress with a review and comments on that report and recommendations regarding any necessary additional actions to protect that border.
(Sec. 1605) Requires the Secretary to establish a Law Enforcement Assistance Force to facilitate the contributions of retired law enforcement officers and agents during major disasters. Authorizes the Secretary, in the event of a major disaster, to request eligible participants to volunteer to assist the efforts of those agencies responding to such emergency and assign each willing participant to a specific law enforcement agency. Permits an eligible participant to refuse an assignment without any adverse consequences.
(Sec. 1606) Directs the Secretary to establish a national homeland security strategy by the end of FY2008 and to review the strategy every four years. Requires each quadrennial review to: (1) delineate a national homeland security strategy consistent with the most recent National Response Plan; (2) describe the interagency cooperation, preparedness of federal response assets, infrastructure, budget plan, and other elements of the homeland security program and policies of the United States associated with the strategy required to execute successfully the full range of missions called for; and (3) identify the budget plan required to provide sufficient resources to successfully execute the full range of missions at a low-to-moderate level of risk and any additional resources required to achieve such a level of risk. Requires the level of risk assessment to be conducted by the DNI.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit a report regarding each quadrennial homeland security review to Congress and make the report publicly available on the Internet by September 30 of the year in which the review is conducted; and (2) provide to Congress and make available on the Internet a detailed resource plan specifying the estimated budget and number of staff members that will be required for preparation of the initial quadrennial homeland security review.
(Sec. 1607) Grants the Secretary responsibility for ensuring that chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear detection equipment and technologies are integrated with other border security systems and detection technologies. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress with a plan to develop a departmental technology assessment process to determine and certify the readiness levels of such technologies before their full deployment within the United States.
Title XVII: 911 Modernization
- 911 Modernization Act - Amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to authorize the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to borrow from the Treasury to make payments to implement the ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004. Requires repayment, without interest, as funds are deposited into the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund.
Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to require the Assistant Secretary and the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to jointly issue regulations updating the criteria to provide priority for public safety answering points not capable of receiving 911 calls.
Title XVIII: Modernization of the American National Red Cross
- American National Red Cross Governance Modernization Act of 2007 - Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to charitable organizations and the American National Red Cross.
(Sec. 1803) Amends federal law concerning the Red Cross to revise its governance structure. Increases the number of persons on the board of governors. Establishes an advisory council to the board.
(Sec. 1811) Authorizes the Comptroller General to review the Red Cross's involvement in any federal program or activity. Establishes an Office of the Ombudsman, which shall report annually to specified congressional committees concerning any trends and systemic matters that the Office has identified as confronting the Red Cross.
Title XIX: Advancement of Democratic Values
- Advance Democratic Values, Address Non-democratic Countries, and Enhance Democracy Act of 2007 or the ADVANCE Democracy Act of 2007 -
Subtitle A: Liaison Officers and Fellowship Program to Enhance the Promotion of Democracy
- (Sec. 1911) Directs the Secretary of State to establish: (1) Democracy Liaison Officer positions; and (2) a Democracy Fellowship Program.
(Sec. 1913) Requires the Broadcasting Board of Governors to transcribe into English all original broadcasting content and to post all English transcripts from its broadcasting content on a publicly available website within 30 days of the original broadcast.
Subtitle B: Annual Report on Advancing Freedom and Democracy
- (Sec. 1921) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 to name a specified report the Advancing Freedom and Democracy Report and to require any such report to be submitted not later than 90 days after the date of submission of a human rights report required under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
(Sec. 1922) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should continue to ensure and expand the timely translation of the Human Rights and International Religious Freedom reports and the Annual Report on Advancing Freedom and Democracy prepared by State Department personnel into the principal languages of as many countries as possible.
Subtitle C: Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion and the Internet Website of the Department of State
- (Sec. 1931) Commends the Secretary of State for creating an Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Committee should play a significant role in the Department's transformational diplomacy by advising the Secretary of State regarding U.S. efforts to promote democracy and democratic transition in connection with the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy and foreign assistance.
(Sec. 1932) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should continue and expand efforts to inform the public in foreign countries of U.S. efforts to promote democracy and defend human rights through the State Department's Internet website and continue to enhance the democracy promotion materials and resources on that website; and (2) such enhancement should include translated reports on democracy and human rights prepared by Department personnel and narratives and histories highlighting successful nonviolent democratic movements.
Subtitle D: Training in Democracy and Human Rights; Promotions
- (Sec. 1941) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should: (1) continue to enhance and expand the training provided to foreign service officers and civil service employees on how to strengthen and promote democracy and human rights, continue the use of case studies and practical workshops addressing potential challenges, and work with non-state actors, including nongovernmental organizations that support democratic principles; and (2) further strengthen the Department's capacity to carry out result-based democracy promotion efforts through the establishment of awards and other employee incentives and establish procedures for selecting award recipients.
(Sec. 1943) Declares that the precepts for selection boards responsible for recommending promotions of foreign service officers should include consideration of a candidate's experience or service in promoting human rights and democracy.
(Sec. 1944) Expresses the sense of Congress that each chief of mission should provide input on actions described in the Advancing Freedom and Democracy Report and intensify democracy and human rights promotion activities.
Subtitle E: Alliances With Democratic Countries
- (Sec. 1951) Urges and authorizes the Secretary of State to establish an Office for the Community of Democracies. Expresses support for the International Center for Democratic Transition, an initiative of the Hungarian government.
Subtitle F: Funding for Promotion of Democracy
- (Sec. 1961) Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should work with other countries to enhance the goals and work of the United Nations Democracy Fund.
(Sec. 1962) States that the purpose of the Human Rights and Democracy Fund should be to support innovative programming, media, and materials designed to uphold democratic principles, to support and strengthen democratic institutions, to promote human rights and the rule of law, and to build civil societies in countries around the world.
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Bill titles: A bill to make the United States more secure by implementing unfinished recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to fight the war on terror more effectively, to improve homeland security, and for other purposes.
Links for more info on the vote: congress.gov
